Pages

Saturday, 8 September 2012

Now they want more

I'm taking this as a good sign. One editor from one publisher would like to see the synopsis to the sequel. This is encouraging, since I have a sequel at least outlined and most of the first third written in first draft. This seems like good news. I don't really know my agent that well, and I want them to know that I'm prolific, I am amenable to edits and suggestions, and that I have a plan for these books. Funny enough, I've found book 2 leads naturally on to a book 3, where Elizabeth Bathory's and Edward Kelley's story changes/ends. So I sent off the synopsis and I'm working to tidy up the front of the book in case they want a first few chapters to see if the style and pace are similar to book 1. Anyway, while I wait, I am enjoying pottering about with my father-in-law's book and thinking about my next non-series book. In addition to out night time badger invasion, we also had a much less welcome visitor, a young fox, right next to the gate where I keep my chickens. This is the time of year the vixens turf their babies out, and he's mangy and bald on his back, and very, very thin. He was nose to nose with my ginger cat and ran off when he saw me. Hopefully, he'll come back at badger feeding time and share their biscuits, long after my ladies have gone to bed in their secure accommodation.

As for the chickens... Get friendly with a hairdresser. Foxes will avoid human hair, so, if you fill some old tights with it and wrap it round your run posts or the bottom of your coop it ought to help. Of course, if your chickens are free range, you could end up needing an awful lot of hair!

I let them out into the yard so it would be possible. But the fox eyes them from the top of the cliff, and I think he could get down if he tried! Bookwise, I'm keeping my head down and writing the sequel.

The Secrets of Life and Death

The Secrets of Blood and Bone

The Secrets of Time and Fate

I Will Find You

A Shroud of Leaves

Saving Noah

About Me

My name is Rebecca Alexander, I am a novelist and poet living in North Devon. I have completed an MA in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of Winchester. My dissertation novel 'The Secrets of Life and Death' was a runner up in the Mslexia 2011 novel writing competition. Another novel, 'A Baby's Bones' came second in the Yeovil novel competition, 2012. I have completed A215 and A363 with the Open University. I write novels with a mystery or supernatural theme and also enjoy writing poetry. I home educated my children, and live in a Georgian house near a river. I have too many cats. This blog is for the everyday stresses and successes of writing. My agent is Jane Willis of United Agents. The Secrets of Life and Death was published by Del Rey UK (part of Random House/Ebury) on October 2013 and the sequel The Secrets of Blood and Bone came out in the UK in October 2014. The third book in the trilogy will be out in 2016. I am presently writing another series, about archaeological puzzles.

Copyrights reserved

Please notice that unless specified otherwise the copyright of all the articles in this blog is belongs to the author of this blog, Rebecca Alexander. Anyone who wishes to post them on other websites, or for any form of publication, please contact the author and get permission first.